Drowning
by Quig Alchemist
Summary: [This begins at the beginning of episode 25, Live Through. One Shot. Also VxM.] Vash is suffering, and doesn't know how to handle the death of Legato. Meryl comes back to check on him, but doesn't see him anywhere! Is that water running...?


Drowning

"Vash. Vash! Wake up quick! Oh Vash…"

Vash hesitantly awoke to the sound of woman's voice, hundreds of thought racing through his mind.

"What Rem?" He called out softly, his eyes slowly focusing on the objects surrounding him in the room. Vash reached up and touched the side of his cheek tentatively. A small tan bandage was stretched over a cut. He couldn't remember why it was there, or why he was lying in this small bed.

Vash looked around and saw a pot of soup boiling on the stovetop, its aroma spreading warmly around him, paralyzing his senses. His crimson coat was also there, hanging up on the opposite side of the room.

Vash sat up suddenly, pain swelling across his midsection. He clenched his teeth and clutched his side with an injured hand. There was yet another wide bandage wrapped entirely around his torso. He drew in a sharp breath, and painfully asked, "Where the hell am I?"

Then Vash remembered everything.

He could see himself standing over the body of a fallen man, blood pooling around his blue-haired head. Vash held a smoking silver revolver. Two women lay roughly tied in the dirt nearby. He had made a choice; Vash had pulled the trigger.

Vash the Stampede's aquamarine eyes grew wide, and his lower lip quivered. He propped up his shaggy head with a trembling hand, overcome with emotion. His blonde strands of hair hung loosely between his fingers, and covered his ears. Vash stared down at his spotless white bed sheets. They were not stained with impurities of this world; they were now the opposite of him.

"What have I…? What have I become?" He asked himself, no longer knowing what to think. He felt like screaming, wanting to express his bottled emotions.

Vash then turned to the sound of muffled voices at the door. One of the voices was Meryl; the other sounded like an older man.

"Thank you again!" Meryl said cheerfully and opened the bedroom door; a near bursting bag was in her arms. Vash and Meryl's eyes connected, and a silence stretched between them. Vash's eyes reached out desperately with pain, causing Meryl's heart to ache deep in her chest. Her violet eyes softened, and she smiled.

"Oh, you're awake! Already that's an improvement!" Meryl exclaimed happily, as Vash continued to give her a look full of shame and uncertainty. "I was worried about you." Meryl said, placing the heavy bag onto a table, and walking towards the stove. "You must be hungry." She began, opening the lid of the pot on the stovetop. "I'll make you some soup!" Meryl busily began to prepare the meal, but hesitated at Vash's subtle question.

"Where are we?" He asked dryly, still trying to gather his bearings.

"It's a small village, about 200 iles from LR." Meryl stirred the soup in a steaming black pot and quickly continued. "There are a lot of very kind people in this town. They let us stay at this house, so we could care for your wounds." Vash looked down again, and rubbed his aching side. "Do you remember anything?" Meryl asked quietly, turning to face the blonde. "You've been asleep since we arrived: ten days strait now."

Meryl walked briskly from the stove, hot bowl of soup in her hands. She stood at the edge of the bed, and handed the steaming bowl to Vash.

"Here. It's my own recipe!" Meryl smiled proudly and clasped her hands together. "Drink up! It's good for healing!" Vash stared down into the bowl's contents strangely, and Meryl's smiled slowly disappeared. His hands trembled, as he began to speak.

"I remember…" He began softly. I remember all of it." Meryl bit her lip, wishing the subject would vanish along with all of Vash's pain.

"Oh hey!" Meryl said suddenly. "I almost forgot! I need to be somewhere!" Vash looked up at the girl waving her arms in front of her face, slowly stepping backwards to the exit. "I'd better hurry! I'll be back later, okay?" Meryl turned and shuffled towards the old worn door. "See ya!" She called casually, as she began to shut the door. "Make sure you drink all your soup okay?" The door shut with a click, as Meryl left the room. She leaned against the wood door on the outside of Vash's room, and sighed.

"Oh Vash…" She mumbled under her breath.

A small undistinguishable noise began to grow from within the room. Meryl immediately recognized the sound as an agonizing scream faintly escalating to a loud echo throughout the hallway. She clapped her hands over her ears and winced, expressing a sharp squeak. Vash's screams seemed to shake her small frame, as she jammed her teary eyes tightly shut. A shimmering teardrop rolled down her cheek.

Meryl walked joyously with Millie on her way back home. She accompanied her tall companion off to work following her break on the well, and cheerfully waved goodbye. Meryl's arms were once again stuffed with grocery bags, as she nearly dropping their contents, and trudged down the dusty path.

As Meryl reached the front door, she cautiously opened it and flicked on the nearest light switch. She walked to the kitchen and sat the heavy bags down on the table. She wiped a stray hair from her face, and proceeded to check up on Vash.

"Vash?" Meryl called gently, as she entered his room. She peered around the doorframe, and her eyes met with an empty, unmade bed. The sheets were scattered, some of which were on the floor, and the pillows sat array.

Meryl's heart pounded wildly, as she clutched her hand into a tiny fist. She ran to Vash's bed, weighing the possibility that Vash could have easily fallen off the other side. Though, he was nowhere to be found.

"Vash!" She called out frantically, alarm quickening her pulse.

Then Meryl noticed the faint trickling sound of water from within the bathroom. She awkwardly moved to the bathroom's door, and inhaled deeply, her hand shuddering on the knob. She watched her own reflection tremble on its shining surface, as she turned it gently and the door creaked open.

A man sat, head in his hands, hugging his knees to his chest. His back was leaning against the shower's white tiled wall. He was still clothed from the waist down; bandages were nearly covering his entire upper half, drenched from the showerhead above. His blonde hair was slick, and his bandages were soaked through to his wounds. Vash's scars seemed more pronounced now, as he silently sobbed, his sadness cascading from him and filling the room like the water that flowed over his skin.

"Oh Vash…" Meryl whispered and walked soundlessly up to the glass of the shower. She knew he was crying his heart out.

Meryl opened the door without a word, and softly closed the sliding glass behind her. Her handprint left a steamed impression, as she gracefully moved towards the shivering man. She knelt down by Vash's side, and wrapped her short arms as far as she could around him. The water rushed down her back coolly, saturating her clothes and skin. Her black hair dripped and glittered in the reflection of her round mirror-like pupils.

"Rem…" Meryl could hear Vash mutter softly. His eyes remained closed, shuttering as tears trickled down cheeks. Every motion was accompanied by his shaking sobs. Meryl held him close, her knees digging into the rough bathroom tiles. Tears also began to form at the corners of her eyes, as another pair of arms embraced her.

Vash and Meryl sat together, holding each other tightly, as the water danced off the multiple surfaces in the room. But then Meryl felt the blonde man break contact and pull away from her grip suddenly. She opened her eyes and looked up, realizing Vash was staring deeply into the features of her face.

Meryl thought she might have gasped, as she flushed a subtle crimson. Vash's eyes held her entranced with the deep emotions of his eyes. Meryl had never noticed the unfathomable depth to his eyes before. They were like two aqua glittering pools drawing her in closer and closer. She felt he knees slide out from under her, and her back gently lean against the slick wall.

A glistening tear rolled down her face, as a pair of lips pressed over her own. A hand reached up and stroked her cheek, brushing the teardrop away. His hand was smooth and caring, as Vash pulled Meryl even closer.

Meryl's wet open palm rubbed over his back, fingers tracing his scar lines. All of Vash's bandages had now been washed from the surface of his skin; unlike the sin and regret he had always carried with him. Vash could have sat with Meryl the entirety of the day, but would have never drowned all of his pain. Meryl knew this in the depths of her heart and shamelessly cried for him.

"Don't cry Meryl." Vash whispered into her ear, and hugged the sobbing girl to his bare chest. She clung to him relentlessly, their roles suddenly reversed, as Vash held her supporting. He lightly kissed the top of her head, smelling the pleasant fragrance of her hair.

Meryl looked up at him again, her broad violet eyes searching for some truth in this legendary gunman. Vash smiled delicately at her choking attempts to stop crying, and kissed Meryl again briefly.

"Don't ever worry about me Meryl." Vash said sincerely, as he encased Meryl with two strong arms again. Meryl could feel his noiseless breath in time with the rise and fall of his chest. She closed her eyes again, as one last tear dripped from her eyelashes. Their expressions matched one another under the steady shower of water. Vash and Meryl smiled as they lay in each other's arms, giving their hearts to the only one in that moment that mattered.

The End

Author's Note: This should have seemed familiar at the beginning of the story. I had to start it somewhere you know! After the little stars, it's my entire story. I know it was kind of sad, and has some major VashxMeryl in it, but it was still pretty good. Please read and Review! Thanks!

-Quig-


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